From the moment Sinead O’Connor began singing “The Foggy Dew”, the crowd in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas turned into a sea of orange, white and green as the Irish faithful cheered and chanted for Conor McGregor as he walked to the Octagon for his main event title fight against Chad Mendes.
Less than 10 minutes later, Ireland crowned its first UFC champion as McGregor stopped Mendes with a TKO late in the second round.
It was just a few weeks ago that McGregor was set to face featherweight champion Jose Aldo in what was expected to be one of the biggest fights in UFC history. A rib injury derailed the champion, so Mendes took the opportunity to face McGregor on two weeks’ notice with an interim title up for grabs instead.
As a former NCAA All-American wrestler, Mendes was the exact style that was supposed to test McGregor after the Irishman tore through a group of strikers who just couldn’t hang with him on the feet.
Mendes wasted no time proving that his grappling was superior as he planted McGregor on the mat in the opening round. The American contender pushed the action with more wrestling and even opened up a deep cut over McGregor’s right eye that likely won him the round when the horn sounded.
However, McGregor managed to land some body shots that appeared to leave Mendes a little winded — exactly the flaw McGregor, who had the advantage of a full training camp, knew was in his favor.
Round two started the same with Mendes putting McGregor on the deck with a blast double-leg takedown, and as he started blasting away with hard elbows on the ground it appeared like the most hyped superstar on the UFC roster was watching his championship dreams expire before he ever got to live them.
Finally after a tough four minutes on the mat, McGregor got back to his feet. When Mendes tried to advance position once the fight standing, momentum changed direction in a hurry.
McGregor went after Mendes immediately, backing the fighter up against the cage as he looked to land his combinations with a spring in his step and power in his punches.
Finally, McGregor unloaded a huge left hand that tore through Mendes’ chin and sent him crumbling to the mat. McGregor followed up with a few more shots as Mendes could only cover up on the ground.
Referee Herb Dean wasted no time calling a stop to the action with three seconds left in the second round, and Conor McGregor suddenly was standing tall as the new UFC featherweight champion.
“I’ve been hearing it all the time that I’m protected from this style of opponent. I’ve been gifted a title shot,” McGregor said after the win. “So when my title shot went running and they gave me the challenge that I was supposed to be protected from, I was going to prove to people that I’m the true fighter. It doesn’t matter who it is. I show up.
“I’m a professional and I come in here and I fight and I’m confident in my abilities.”
McGregor had the toughest battle of his UFC career and likely was down at least one round, if not on his way to being down two, before proving that he’s not only an elite featherweight, but also he’s never out of a fight until the final bell.
As a raucous crowd filled by Irish fans yelled so loudly that even a microphone amplified couldn’t pick up McGregor’s every word, he celebrated with the fans and declared that this victory was for everyone on the Emerald Isle.
“The Irish people who support me, I swear to God I done this for us,” McGregor said. “I done this for us.”
As for Mendes, he fell in his third title fight since joining the UFC, but takes no shame after stepping up on two weeks’ notice to save the card when Aldo dropped out. Despite a mountain of trash talk shared before the fight, Mendes gave McGregor his due before the two embraced in the center of the Octagon.
“The guy’s tough,” Mendes said. “Hands down, the guy’s got the talk to back it up.”
McGregor’s win makes him the new interim featherweight champion, but more importantly he again sets up a fight with Aldo that undoubtedly will be one of the most talked about title fights of all time.
